I'm launching a startup

Hey all,

This issue is a little different. First, I'll explain what's up with this side project I'm launching, then we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming. I'm eager to get your feedback, so please don't hesitate to reply to this email.

This was post was written by Ryan Holiday (who is also one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter). It's long, but it's worth the 10 minutes or so it takes to read.

Alive Time or Dead Time? Early on in my career I had a pivotal conversation with Robert. I was working full-time at a really good job but planning my next move, saving my money and thinking about what I might do next. I told him I wanted to write a book one day, but I wasn’t sure what, how or when or what about. He told me, Ryan, there are two types of time: Dead time—where we are just waiting and Alive time—where we are learning and active and leveraging. And then he left it there with me to decide which I would choose.

I wrote Alive Time or Dead Time on a notecard and for years it was on my wall—so I would never forget. I squeezed every ounce of life out of that job and it set up the career I have now.

As the sub-title says, "not just any kind of break will do." Some of this advice may seem cliched, but that's because it works.

Another related study ... found that workers who spent their lunch break using their smart phone, as opposed to chatting with friends, felt like they’d enjoyed as much distraction from work as the sociable folk, but they actually ended up feeling more emotionally exhausted in the afternoon.

My hypothesis is that everything worth developing or learning compounds. Fitness, self control, initiative – you name it and it likely works that way. Heck, even learning compounds.

Every trait that makes us better people is hard to develop at first. Start exercising today and it feels hard. The results either feel negligible or absent. But, climb up that curve and suddenly things feel different. There’s a momentum where there never was one. There’s an understanding of how pieces tie in together.

So, if you are aiming to get started on a habit that you think will make your life better – start today. Compounding is more powerful when you start earlier and do it for longer. And, for those of you who feel stuck after putting in effort for a while, push through. Keep at it. It is tough at first.

After years of frustrating dealings with financial advisors, I've moved everything to Wealthfrontand it's great. If you signup, use this link and we both get an extra $5k managed for free.

I mentioned Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast last week, but here's a more specific recommendation: his series on World War I called Blueprint for Armageddon. I'm six hours in and can't get enough.